Material collecting means for continuous mining machine



1965 R. c. LUNDQUIST 3,169,797

MATERIAL COLLECTING MEANS- FOR CONTINUOUS MINING MACHINE Filed Oct. 17,1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR, Richard C lunoqulsf ATTYS.

Feb. 16, 1965 R. c. LUNDQUIST 3,169,797

MATERIAL COLLECTING MEANS. FOR CONTINUOUS MINING MACHINE Filed Oct. 17,1962 s Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Pic/70m 6. Zunoyw'sl Feb. 16, 1965 R. c.LUNDQUIST 3,169,797

MATERIAL COLLECTING MEANS FOR CONTINUOUS MINING MACHINE Filed Oct. 17,1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 F5 .4 L I7 7 INVENTOR. k/b/zaro C Zunogzw'sfATTYS.

United States Patent 3,169,797 MATERIAL CGLLEE'I'ING MEANS FUR CON-TINUGUS MINING MAQHINE Richard E. Lnndqnist, Palos Heights, Ill assignorto Gcodinan Manufacturing tlompany, Chicago, IIL, a corporation ofIllinois 7 Filed Oct. 17, B62, Ser. No. 231,096 11 Claims. ((13. 299-64)This invention relates to improvements in continuous mining machines andmore particularly relates to an improved means for collecting andtransferring the mined material to the conveyor of themachine.

A principal object of the invention is to improve upon the continuousmining machines heretofore in use by providing a simplified and improvedcuttings collecting device following the mining head during mining andforming a material collecting and transferring hopper of substantiallyuniform width in all vertical positions of the mining head, fortransferring the mined material onto the conveyor of the machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved means forcollecting the material mined by ripper type mining heads andtransferring the material to the conveyor of the machine in the form ofaprons extending laterally from opposite sides of the conveyor of themachine and longitudinally pivoted thereto to be extended forsubstantially thewidth of the working place when the mining head is inposition to be sumped into the working face along the ground andfollowing the mining head during upward cutting movement thereof andextensible during the operation of following the mining head to presenta material collecting area extending substantially to the ribs of theworking place during the entire operation of mining a working place.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved formof continuous mining machine having a transversely pivoted boomextending in advance of the main frame of the machine over a materialcollecting conveyor, and having a transversely extending mining headsupported at its forward end to mine by rotational movement of themining head and upward feeding movement thereof effected by upwardswinging movement of the boom, in which aprons longitudinally pivoted toopposite sides of the conveyor of the machine form a material collectingmeans transferring material to the conveyor-of the machine and are movedvertically about their longitudinal pivotal axes upon vertical movement.

of the boom under the control of the boom, and have side boardsextending along and pivotally connected to the outer ends thereofextending the aprons during upward pivotal movement thereof tomaintainthe material collecting areas of the aprons into positions atsubstantially the ribs of the working place during the entire scope ofvertical feeding movement of the boom.

These and other objects ofthe' invention will appear from time to timeas the following specification proceeds and with reference to theaccompanying drawings wherein FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of acontinuous mining machine constructed in accordance with the principlesof the invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged partial fragmentary view in side elevation ofthe forward end portion of the machine, showing the boom supporting themining head in position to be sumped into a working face;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary plan view of one side of the machine, showinga material collecting apron and side board in the position shown inFIGURES land 2;

FIGURE 4 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially along line44 of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 5 is a diagrammatic view showing an illusice movement of thematerial carrying aprons of the machine.

' In FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawings, I have shown a continuous miningmachine 10 mounted on laterally spaced continuous traction tread devices11. The traction tread devices 11 serve to transport the machine fromworking place to working place and to sump a rotary mining head 12,extending transversely of a main frame I3 of the machine into theworking face of a mine. The mining head 12 is a drum type of mining headhaving cutter bits 14- projecting from the periphery thereof and isfedvertically along the working face from the floor to the roof of the mineby a boom 15 supporting the min-v ing head at its forward end, andtransversely pivoted to the main frame 13 of the machine on transversepivot pins 16. v

The continuous mining machine It is commonlycalled a ripper type ofmining machine and operates on principles similar to those shown anddescribed in my application Serial No. 67,267, filed November 4, 1960,now forfeited. 7

As shown in FIGURES -1 and 2, the boom arm 15 is transversely pivoted tothe main frame of the machine along opposite sides of a conveyor 17 andextends over the top of said conveyor in advance of the forward endthereof and supports the rotary mining head 12 at its forward end forrotation about an axis extending transversely of the main frame of themachine,

Motors 19 extend along opposite sides of the boom 15 and have speedreducer housings 20 at the forward ends thereof, formingcontinuations ofthe motor housings. The speed reducer housings 26 contain conventionalspeed reduction gearing (not shown) therein.

The speed reduction gearing contained in the housing 20 forms a meansfor driving flexible and universal drive connections 21, driving themining head 12 through bevel geared drive connections (not shown) in amanner similar to that shown and described in my application Serial No.67,267, and no part of the present invention so not herein shown ordescribed further. I i I The boom 15 and mining head 12 are elevated byhydraulic jacks 22 extending along opposite'sides of an in the form of apiston rod 26, pivotally connected between .to discharge trative form offluid system controlling vertical swinging connector ears 27 on atransverse pivot pin 29. The connector ears 27 depend from an upperplate portion 3t) of the boom 15. The inclined elevating frame structure23 of the conveyor, includes parallel spaced side plates SLtransverselypivoted at their rear ends to the main frame 13 on transverse pivot pins32 shown in FIGURE 2 as being disposed above the pivot pins 16 and ingeneral vertical alignment therewith. The side plates 31 slidably extendwithin side plates 33 of the conveyor'17, extending along the main 7frame 13 in parallel relation with respect .to each other. The sideplates 33 terminateint-o flexible sidewalls 34, connecting the sideplates 33 ton; rear laterally swingable discharge trough section 35 ofthe conveyor, positionable like. a

The material moving structure of the conveyor 17 is 2 the mined materialinto shuttle cars and the forward end thereof.

wardly of the'main frame 13, on pivot pins 41. The jacks 39 are pivotedat their opposite ends between connector brackets 42, space-d outwardlyof the side plates 31 of the:

frame structure 23, on pivotpins 43. The jacks 39 are provided toelevate the inclined elevating frame structure 23 abovethe ground whenit is desired to tram the Inachine from working place to-working placeand toaccommodate a ground engaging shoe45 extending transversely of theinclined frame structure 23 along the bottoms of the side plates 31 andlaterally beyond said side plates to Tslid- .ably engage the groundduring the operation of mining.

ends to saidrnain frame, between ears as extending for- 'Referringnowinparticular to the extensible material collectingand transferring hopperof the invention, collooting and transferring the material mined by themining head12gbnt0the conveyor '17, an apron 47 extends along :the upperend portion of each sidepla-te 3l,"for a portion of the lengththereof. 1Each apron interleaves the upper end portion of an associated side plateand is pivotally connected thereto as by a' hinge pin 49 extendinggenerally parallel to the sideplatefil. Each apron 47 has an inclinedshovel-like plate fi lforrning a continuation of the clined downwardlytoward the ground at a steeper angle than the angle of the apron 4'7 andengages the ground at its forward end when the apron is in the positionshown 7 in FIGURE 2. The shovel-like plates 5 tl overlap the outer endportions of an inclined shovel-like plate 51, extending across the frontof the conveyor and connected to the shoe 45 at its lowerend. c y c Theinclined shovel-lilre plates 50; 50 and 51, provide a'widejfront shoveledge to beforced under the pile of loose coal mined, when the mininghead 12 is in position ,to be sumped along theground and issumped intothe mine face to initiate a vertical mining operation from the 7 floorto the-root of the mine.

Each apron" 47 is interleaved at-its outer side by aside Eachshovel-like plate: 50 is inhasan intale line 71 leading fromafluidstorage tanlc 72. i

The output of the pump 76 is connectedwith a variable pressure reliefvalve 73 through a pressure line '74. The variable pressure relief valve73 governs the pressure in a pressure line 75 leading from saidrelief-valye and connected with a four way valve '76. A return line 77leads a from the relief valve 73 tothe tank 72.

The four way valve 7s isconnected with the head ends 7 of the cylinders56by pressure lines 78." The four way valve 76 is operable to raise andlowertheaprons 47 by 'manual operationof :the valve; 'The valve 76' alsomay continuously supply fluid under pressure to the head ends of thecylinders 56 2\nd. bias the aprons '47 into upwardly extended relationwithrespecttothe conveyor 17 into the positions shown by dot dash'linesin FIGURE 4. The

relief valve '73 is set to govern the pressure'in the cylinders 56 andto accommodate downward movement of the aprons 47 upon engagement ofthetop surfacesof said aprons with stop legs 79 depending from oppositesides of the'boorn l5 whenthe operator may neglect to turn the valve'76fto supply lluid under pressure to the piston rod ends of thecylinders 56, to lower the aprons'47, or where a it may be desired tohave the aprons automatically follow the boom and mining head. Pressurelines lead from the valve 76' to the pistonrod ends of the cylinders 56,to V retract aprons by operation ot-the valve '76.

Duringthe operation of surnping the mining head 12 into the workingface'when positioned to'cut along the board 53 pivotally connected tosaid apron by a pivot pin 54-, extending parallel to the pivot pin 49. a

The aprons 47, 47 are raised and loweredtogether by f hydraulic jacks55, 55. As shown in'FlGURE 4, "each hydraulic jack 55 includes acylinder 56 having an ea; 57 extending from the'headend thereof betweenparallel splacejd brackets -591exten'ding' laterally of the {side plate"7 31 andpivotally connected theretoasibya pivotpin 6t). A piston rod 61extensible from the cylinder 56 ex- 1 tends between connector bracketsfil depending from'the "underside ,of the apron 47 and is 'pivotallyconnected there to 'as'byapivot pin.63. I r

The sideboards 53 are moved from the upwardly extended positions shownin FIGURES l, 2, 3 and 4 to the outwardly extended positions shown bybroken lines in links 65 are pivotally connected to rigid arms s7 welded*or}.otherwise secured' to the undersurfaces' of the side boards 53 andextending downwardly therefrom, when the axes of the hinge pins 49, the;side boards 53 will be pivoted material mined by veyor 17 the mining:headll onto, the conground, there will be a space between the bottoms ofthe stop legs v 79 and the ap'ron's 47. As, however, the mining head is:surnpedinto the working face and upward feeding movement thereof isstarted, the valve 76' may be turnedto supply fluid under pressure tothe head ends a of the cylinders 55 and move the, aprons 4+7 upwardlyabout the hinge pins 49 into engagement with the stop 7 legs '79. Thehand may then be taken from the controls I of the valve 76 and theaprons 47 may move upwardly with the boom '15 following the stop legs 79to their extended positions shownin FIGURE 4, limited by the strokes ofthe hydraulic jacks 55. If required, the boom may then move away fromthe aprons 47 to feed'the mining head 12 upwardly to the roof of themine.

Upon" downward'rnovementof the boomlithe stop legs 79,79 engaging theaprons 57, 47 Willrnove said yaprons downwardly about the axes of thehinge pins 49 against the hydraulic bias of the cylinders controlled bythe'relief valve 73. 5 7 Durin'g the operation of surnping themininghead 12V vinto the working face, the aprons 47 and Sideboards 53may be retainedin the upright positions shown in FIG- :URE 4. As themining head is sumped into the working i v 'taceito the required depthand the hydraulic jacks 22 are i FIGURE -'4 by links connected to theouter sides of the side walls 31, on pivot pins 66a The outer ends ofthe a side boards are in their upwardly extended positions {shown inFIGURE 4. Pivotjpins 69 pivotallyconnect the ,;"-links 65'to the-arms67.

" Thus, as the aprons 47 are pivoted upwardly aboutthe V putinto.operationto feed the boorn'ls and mining head vl2, upwardly towards theroof of the'mine, the vaive '76 w may beturned'by the operator of'themachine to admit fluid underpressureto the head endsof the cylinders 56and move the aprons 47 upwardly to follow the boom 15 and to effectopening of the sideboardsl 53 as the aprons '47 move upwardly. Therelief valve 73 may be set to ,supply just enough pressure to cause theaprons to fol low the stop legsfik The operator of the machine. may

. thus remove'hishand fromthe control lever'for the valve 1.76 and theaprons'47 will be swung upwardly under con- An'illustrative form offluid pressure diagram showing a a 7 part of the'fluid' pressure systemof the machine and the VI fluid pressure connections to the hydraulic'jacks 55, is

shown in FIGURE 5. As shownwin this figure a pump 7% trol of the stoplegs- 79' until they'reach their limit of upward travel.

Upon lowering movement of-the boom, the stops 79 en- V gaging the aprons47 will pivot said aprons downwardly against the hydraulicibias in thecylinders 56, until the f stops 7 reach the lower ends of their travel.Where desired the valve 76 may then be operated to admit fluidunderpressureto the pistonrod ends of the cylinders 56 and lower theaprons 47 to the positionsshown'in FI URE 4.

The boorn arm ls also has a stop depen di'rigfrom itstorward end portionjust rearwardly Qf'lhfi mining head 12. This stop is engageable with astop 82 on the shoveliike plate 51, to limit downward movement of themining head 12 and to prevent the mining head from cutting into theshovel-like plates 50 and 51.

It may be seen from FIGURE 2 that when the mining head 12 is cuttingalong the ground the stop 81 is spaced above the abutment 82. Thisspacing is provided to enable the mining head 12 to be adjusted to outbelow the floor line, when desired.

The aprons 47 and side boards 53 thus form an extensible hopper of asubstantially uniform width in all positions of the aprons with respectto the conveyor 17, for collecting and transferring the material minedonto said conveyor.

It should here be noted that while the aprons 47 and side boards 53usually follow the mining head during the mining operation, that saidaprons and side boardsneed not follow the mining head, but may remain intheir lowermost positions shown in FIGURE 4 and allow the mined materialto be deposited thereon, and then may be periodically raised to causethe material deposited thereon to flow onto the conveyor.

While I have herein shown and described one form in which my inventionmay be embodied, it may readily be understood that various variationsand modifications in the invention may be attained without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the novel concepts thereof as defined bythe claims appended hereto.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a continuous mining machine,

a main frame,

a boom transversely pivoted to said main frame and extending in advancethereof,

a rotary mining head supported on said boom for rotation about an axisextending transversely of said main frame,

means for vertically moving said boom with respect to said main frameand feeding said mining head vertically along a mine face,

a conveyor extending along said main frame and having an inclinedelevating forward end portion extending in advance of said main frame ina downwardly inclined direction into engagement with the ground,

inclined aprons extending along opposite sides of said conveyor andlaterally therefrom and mounted on said conveyor for angular movementwith respect thereto about axes extending longitudinally of saidconveyor and parallel to the plane of travel thereof and engaged by saidboom when said boom is in a lowermost position, a

and fluid pressure operated means pivotally connected between saidconveyor and aprons, pivotally moving said aprons upwardly to followsaid boom and form an inclined hopper terminating at said conveyor.

2. A continuous mining machine in accordance with claim 1 wherein sideboards are'pivotally connected to and extend along the outer sides ofsaid aprons and cooperate with said aprons to form a movable hopper ofuniform width for transferring the mined material to said conveyor, andwherein linkage connections are provided between opposite sides of saidconveyor and said side boards to extend said side boards outwardly withrespect to said aprons upon upward pivotal movement of said aprons.

3. In a continuous mining machine,

a main frame,

a boom transversely pivoted to said main frame and extending in advancethereof,

a rotary mining head supported by said boom for rotation about an axisextending transversely of said main frame,

means for vertically moving said boom with respect to said main frameand feeding said mining head vertically along a mine face,

a conveyor extending along said main frame and having an inclinedelevating trough portion extending in advance of said main framedownwardly into position to engage the ground, the inclined elevatingtrough portion of said conveyor having a steeply inclined shovel plateextending across the forward end thereof to a position adjacent theground,

material retaining aprons extending along opposite sides of saidelevating trough portion and pivotally connected thereto for movementabout axes extending longitudinally of said trough portion,

hydraulic jack means connected between said trough portion and saidaprons for pivoting said aprons upwardly,

and engaging connections between said boom and said aprons accommodatingsaid aprons to follow said boom upon angular upward movement thereofupon the admission of fluid under pressure to said hydraulic jack meansto pivot said aprons upwardly, and moving said aprons downwardly upondownward movcment of said boom upon the release of pressure in saidhydraulic jack means.

4. In a continuous mining machine,

a main frame,

a boom transversely pivoted to said main frame and extending in advancethereof,

a rotary mining head supported by said boom for rotation about an axisextending transversely of said main frame,

means for vertically moving said boom with respect to said main frameand feeding said mining head vertically along a mine face,

a conveyor extending along said main frame and having an inclinedelevating trough portion extending in advance of said main framedownwardly into position to engage the ground, and having parallelspaced side walls extending therealong having an inclined shovel-likeplate extending across said side walls in advance thereof in position toengage the ground,

material collecting and transferring aprons extending along the upperend portions of said side walls and laterally therefrom,

means pivotally connecting said aprons to said side walls for upwardmovement about axes extending longitudinally of said walls,

hydraulic jack means pivotally connected between said side walls andaprons for raising and lowering said aprons about their axes ofconnection to said side walls,

side boards extending along the outer sides of said aprons and pivotallyconnected thereto for movement about axes extending parallel to the axesof connection of said aprons to said side Walls,

and linkage connections between said side walls and said side boards,pivoting said aprons outwardly upon angular upward movement of saidaprons to extend said aprons laterally to maintain a uniform cuttingscollecting surface upon upward feeding movement of said mining head.

5. A continuous mining machine in accordance 'm'th claim 4 wherein ahydraulic circuit is provided to said jacks including a control valveand a relief valve to bias said aprons into angular upward extendedrelation with respect to said conveyor, and wherein an engagingconnection is provided between said boom and said aprons to pivot saidaprons downwardly upon downward travel of said boom and mining head andto accommodate said aprons to travel upwardly with said boom.

6. A continuous mining machine in accordance with claim 5 wherein theengaging connection comprises a pair of stop legs depending from saidboom and having controlling engagement with said aprons.

7. In a continuous mining machine,

a main frame,

a boom transversely pivoted to said main frame and extending in advancethereof,

a rotary mining head supported by said boom for rotation about an axisextending transversely of said main frame,

means for vertically moving said boom with respect to said main frameand feeding said mining head vertically along a mine face,

a conveyor extending along said main frame and having an inclinedelevating trough portion extending in advance ofsaid main framedownwardly into position to engage the ground, and having parallel sidewalls having a plow plate extending across the forward ends thereof andin advance thereof for collecting the material mined by said mining headand transferring the material onto said conveyor including inclinedaprons extending along said side walls and pivotally connected theretofor movement about axes extending longitudinally thereof generally parallel to the plane of said conveyor,

hydraulic jack means pivotally connected between said side walls andaprons for pivoting said aprons upwardly to follow said boom upon upwardmovement thereof,

side board extends along the outer sides of said aprons andlongitudinally pivoted thereto,

control arms extending downwardly of the outer sides of said sideboards, said side boards with said aprons forming a vertically movablehopper transferring the mined material tosaid conveyor,

and control links connected between said control arms and side walls andmaintaining said side boards in generally upright positions when saidconveyor is in engagement with the ground and moving said side boardsangularly outwardly with respect to said aprons upon upward pivotalmovement of said aprons.

8. A continuous mining machine in accordance with claim 7, wherein saidboom has stop legs depending therefrom and having controlling engagementwith said aprons for moving the said aprons outwardly upon downwardmovement of said boom and accommodating upward movement of said apronsupon upward movement of said boom to feed said mining head verticallyalong a mine scams 9. A continuous mining machine in accordance withclaim 8 wherein a fluid pressure circuit is provided to supply fluidunder pressurerto said jack means and bias said aprons to follow saidboom upon upward movement thereof and wherein a relief valve loaded tomaintain said aprons into engagement with said stops is provided in saidcircuit.

10. In a conveyor having an inclined elevating forward end portionhaving parallel spaced side walls extending therealong andan endlesschain and flight conveyor movable along said side walls in the spacetherebetween,

a hopper for said inclined elevating forward end portion of saidconveyor for transferring the mined material onto said conveyorcomprising aprons extending along opposite sides of said in clinedelevating forward end portion of said conveyor and longitudinallypivoted to said side walls,

5% hydraulic jack means connected between said side Walls and aprons forraising and lowering said aprons about their axes of connection to saidconveyor,

side boards extending along the outer sides of said aprons and pivotallyconnected thereto for movement about axes extending parallel to theaboom transversely pivoted to said main frame and extending in advancethereof, a rotary mining head supported on said boom for rotation aboutan axis extending transversely of said main frame, means for verticallymoving said boom with respect to said main frame and feeding said mininghead vertically along a mine face, a conveyor extending'along said mainframe and having an inclined elevating forward end portion extending inadvance of said main frame and inclined downwardly from said main frametoward the ground, said inclined forward end portion having ashovel-like plate extending across the forward end thereof to theground, a inclined aprons extending along and outwardly of op positesides of said inclined elevating portion of said conveyor and pivotallyconnected thereto for 'movement about axes extending longitudinally ofsaid conv y means for pivoting said aprons upwardly about said axes toform a vertically movable hopper to collect and transfer materiai ontosaid conveyor, .said aprons each having a forward shovel-like extensionoverlapping said shovel-like plate and forming lateral continuationsthereof when said aprons are in their lowermost positions of adjustment,side boards extending along said aprons and longi tudinally pivoted tothe outer sides thereof and extending upwardly therefrom when saidmining head is positioned along the ground, and links pivotallyconnected between the. undersides of said side boards and opposite sidesof said inclined elevating portion of'said conveyorto effect movement ofsaid side boards outwardly toward the ribs of a working piace uponangular iupwardmovement of said aprons toward each other.

References Cited inthefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE (1F CORRECTION Patent No. 3,169,797February 16, 1965 Richard C. Lundquist It is hereby certified that errorappears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that thesaid Letters Patentshould read as corrected below.

Column 7, line 23, for "board extends"'read boards extending Signed andsealed this 17th day of August 1965.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER EDWARD J. BRENNER Altesting Officer Commissioner ofPatents

1. IN A CONTINUOUS MINING MACHINE, A MAIN FRAME, A BOOM TRANSVERSELYPIVOTED TO SAID MAIN FRAME AND EXTENDING IN ADVANCE THEREOF, A ROTARYMINING HEAD SUPPORTED ON SAID BOOM FOR ROTATION ABOUT AN AXIS EXTENDINGTRANSVERSELY OF SAID MAIN FRAME, MEANS FOR VERTICALLY MOVING SAID BOOMWITH RESPECT TO SAID MAIN FRAME AND FEEDING SAID MINING HEAD VERTICALLYALONG A MINE FACE, A CONVEYOR EXTENDING ALONG SAID MAIN FRAME AND HAVINGAN INCLINED ELEVATING FORWARD END PORTION EXTENDING IN ADVANCE OF SAIDMAIN FRAME IN A DOWNWARDLY INCLINDED DIRECTION INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH THEGROUND, INCLINED APRONS EXTENDING ALONG OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID CONVEYORAND LATERALLY THEREFROM AND MOUNTED ON SAID CONVEYOR FOR ANGULARMOVEMENT WITH RESPECT THERETO ABOUT AXES EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OFSAID CONVEYOR AND PARALLEL TO THE PLANE OF TRAVEL THEREOF AND ENGAGED BYSAID BOOM WHEN SAID BOOM IS IN A LOWERMOST POSITION, AND FLUID PRESSUREOPERATED MEANS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID CONVEYOR AND APRONS,PIVOTALLY MOVING SAID APRONS UPWARDLY TO FOLLOW SAID BOOM AND FROM ANINCLINED HOPPER TERMINATING AT SAID CONVEYOR.
 10. IN A CONVEYOR HAVINGAN INCLINED ELEVATING FORWARD END PORTION HAVING PARALLEL SPACED SIDEWALLS EXTENDING THEREALONG AND AN ENDLESS CHAIN AND FLIGHT CONVEYORMOVABLE ALONG SAID SIDE WALLS IN THE SPACE THEREBETWEEN, A HOPPER FORSAID INCLINED ELEVATING FORWARD END PORTION OF SAID CONVEYOR FORTRANSFERRING THE MINED MATERIAL ONTO SAID CONVEYOR COMPRISING APRONSEXTENDING ALONG OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID INCLINED ELEVATING FORWARD ENDPORTION OF SAID CONVEYOR AND LONGITUDINALLY PIVOTED TO SAID SIDE WALLS,HYDRAULIC JACK MEANS CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID SIDE WALLS AND APRONS FORRAISING AND LOWERING SAID APRONS ABOUT THEIR AXES OF CONNECTION TO SAIDCONVEYOR, SIDE BOARDS EXTENDING ALONG THE OUTER SIDES OF SAID APRONS ANDPIVOTALLY CONNECTED THERETO FOR MOVEMENT ABOUT AXES EXTENDING PARALLELTO THE AXES OF PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF SAID APRONS, AND LINKAGE CONNECTIONSBETWEEN SAID SIDE WALLS OF SAID CONVEYOR AND SAID SIDE BOARDS PIVOTINGSAID SIDE BOARDS OUTWARDLY UPON ANGULAR UPWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID APRONSTO MAINTAIN THE WIDTH OF SAID HOPPER SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM IN ALLVERTICAL POSITIONS OF SAID APRONS WITH RESPECT TO SAID CONVEYOR.